Arianna Savall
The Swiss-born Spanish harpist, soprano, and composer Arianna Savall is the daughter of Montserrat Figueras and Jordi Savall. She studied piano, classical harp, and singing in Basel and in the Catalan city of Terrassa, later focusing on early music in Toulouse with Rolf Lislevand. She received further instruction in singing from Kurt Widmer and in historical harp from Heidrun Rosenzweig at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Since 1997 she has been giving concerts worldwide with Hespèrion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Mala Punica, the Ricercar Consort, and Il Desiderio, performing in Europe, the USA, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. As a soloist, she performs, accompanies herself on the harp, and presents not only a wide range of Baroque repertoire but also her own compositions.
Arianna Savall made her debut as a Baroque opera singer in 2000 in a performance of Florian Leopold Gassmann's Opera Seria in Basel. In Barcelona in 2002, she played the role of Eurydice in a highly successful production of Monteverdi's Orfeo, directed by Jordi Savall. Numerous CD recordings and prizes testify to her exceptional artistic talent. In 2009 she founded the ensemble Hirundo Maris with her husband, Petter Udland Johansen, specializing in early music and their own musical creations. The creative work of this ensemble focuses on Mediterranean and Nordic music.
©Photo: Stephan Röhl